Quite often, the seeds of plants are so similar to each other that they involuntarily ask themselves the question: "Maybe this is one plant with a different name?". Let's try to figure out whether this is so.
Did you know? Caraway seeds contain volatile, which can prevent the development of cancer.
Features and biological description
Each plant has its own characteristics: a unique chemical composition, certain beneficial properties, scope.
Anise
This plant may be familiar by the following names: ganus, jire, femur, chanush, atikhatra, sira, anison. A short (30–70 cm) annual plant with a thin rod root. The anise stalk is round, upright, pubescent with small soft hairs, branching closer to the top of the plant. The leaves, like many Umbrellas, are strongly pinnate dissected. The leaves of the lower tier are on long stalks, rounded heart-shaped with a serrated edge, resembling parsley leaves, the middle tier is petiolate with a cut into three lobes, the upper tier is sessile, consisting of 3-5 lobes, more resembling dill leaves.
The flowering period is from the end of June to September, pollinated by bees and bumblebees. A large number of small white flowers form complex inflorescences, consisting of 5–13 simple umbrellas. The fruit of the culture is the ovoid oviparous of gray-brown color. The base of the fruit is widened, the top is narrowed, slightly compressed on the sides, consists of two weakly pubescent half-fruits with a length of 3-5 mm. The weight of 1000 semi-fruits varies from 1.5 to 4 g.
Did you know? Anise aroma has insecticidal properties, its smell affects mole lice, cockroaches, bedbugs and ticks.
Chemical constituents:
- organic acids;
- essential oil;
- fatty oil;
- Sahara;
- proteins;
- mineral salts.
- Beneficial features:
- antispasmodic;
- choleretic;
- laxative;
- painkiller;
- lactogonous;
- antiseptic;
- sedative;
- anti-inflammatory.
The fruits of the culture are often used as part of various teas, collections and tinctures. Anise-based products are highly effective in the treatment of inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, diseases of the throat, bronchitis and pulmonary diseases. Anise is able to improve the blood circulation of the brain like fennel or dill, so it is advisable to take it after suffering strokes, epilepsy attacks.
Important! The use of anise for pregnant women is strictly prohibited.
Caraway
Frost-resistant biennial plant of the Umbrella family. In the first year of life, it forms a green mass - a basal rosette consisting of branched, smooth stems that develop in the second year of life and reach 1–1.20 m in height. The root of the culture is dense, without special branches, spindle-shaped light brown color. The leaves are alternate, narrow and elongated, double and triple pinnate. In the second year of the plant's development, peduncles appear - this period falls on the June-July month. Small flowers of white or pale pink color form a complex umbrella, the diameter of which can reach 8 cm.
The fruit is an oblong brown oxycarpous, flattened from the edges, which eventually splits into two half-fruits. The length of the fetus is from 2.5 to 3.5 mm, and its width is not more than 2-3 mm. The caraway fruit has a strong aroma and a pungent spicy spicy taste. Harvesting is carried out in late July - early August, when the fruits begin to acquire a brown hue. The culture is cut off, tying it into small sheaves, placed for drying in a well-ventilated warm room.
Did you know? During the Middle Ages, alchemists and sorcerers used caraway in the manufacture of amulets, and it was also part of many potions.
Chemical constituents:
- essential oil;
- fatty oil;
- tannins;
- proteins;
- flavonoids.
Caraway seeds contain a large amount of vitamins, trace elements, macrocells and fiber. It can be noted that among the vitamins are such as folic and ascorbic acid, provitamin A, riboflavin, thiamine.- Beneficial features:
- antibacterial;
- anthelmintic;
- immunostimulating;
- diuretic;
- antitussive;
- expectorant;
- digestive
There is a statement Avicenna, saying that the oily substances of black cumin revive vitality. It is difficult to argue with this, although in our days black caraway seeds are called black cherries or kalingini.
Important! Caraway is contraindicated in coronary heart disease, even a small amount of it can provoke a heart attack.
What is the difference between anise and caraway seeds
Caraway and anise belong to the same family - Umbrella, but these are completely different plants.
Origin
These spicy plants have been known for several thousand years, their useful and healing properties have been evaluated by mankind for a long time and therefore it is difficult to determine the source. Asia is considered to be the homeland of Asia Minor, Egypt, India, Ethiopia and the countries of the eastern Mediterranean. Egypt is considered the birthplace of caraway, this herb was part of the ointment for mummification. Today, the area of cultural distribution is almost endless: the temperate zone of Asia, the territory of Europe, the territory of the former USSR, the subtropics of India and Pakistan.
Growing conditions
Anise is a plant that responds well to the presence of heat and plentiful light, grows in light fertile soils, and does not tolerate weed neighborhood. Cumin is a frost-resistant photophilous plant. It grows and develops well in fertile, moderately moist soils.
Taste differences
Anise fruits have a sweetish flavor with a light fruit aroma, while caraway seeds are distinctive.
Did you know? Before, anise was so expensive that due to taxes from its sales, the British repaired meast across the Thames.
Odor difference
The aromas of these two cultures are very close: anise has a light, piquant, warm, refreshing aroma, and caraway is also enriched with nutty and earthy notes.
Appearance
Cumin is a rather inconspicuous plant, very similar to a weed. Caraway seeds are smaller than anise fruits, they have a darker brown color and a curved shape in the form of a sickle.
1) Caraway seeds 2) Anise seeds
Recommendations for use
Since ancient times, people used anise seeds in cooking as a spice. Fresh green anise is used to make green salads, and seeds are used to make marinades and stewed fruit, and to bake muffins; they are no worse than sesame seeds. The anise smell is especially well combined with aromas of spices such as cardamom, ginger, cloves, fennel, cinnamon. Collected tea, which includes anise, is very tasty and healthy.
The use of anise in pickling or pickling vegetables gives the latter a piquant aftertaste and an unforgettable aroma. In folk medicine, anise is widely used in the treatment of a number of diseases. Plant-based preparations and infusions have gained their distribution due to the fact that they are not poisonous and actually have no contraindications.
Caraway fruits are widely used in cooking - it goes well with black pepper in meat dishes, it is used in canning and in the manufacture of muffins. Cumin is indispensable for people seeking to lose weight. The fruits of the culture are rich in fiber, which improve digestion, and due to tannins, an effect on the body occurs, which helps to cleanse the body and remove toxins and harmful substances.
If you chew a pinch of caraway seeds before meals, then you can achieve such an effect as a "broken appetite." It is no secret that spicy herbs and spices have a wide range of useful properties, and regular use of them in food leads to the healing of the human body. Properly selected, taking into account their properties, they are able to save a person from many ailments.
